In 2014, the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care published a study that examined the impact of grief dreams. The study found that “dreams of the deceased occur frequently, can be highly meaningful and further healing from a loss.”
Themes in the dreams included “past memories or experiences, the deceased free of illness, memories of the deceased’s illness or time of death, the deceased in the afterlife appearing healthy, comfortable and at peace as well as the deceased communicating a message.”
In 2016, a team of Canadian researchers did an analysis of dreams from 76 bereaved middle-aged individuals. According to the study, 67.1% of the bereaved sample said that their dreams of the deceased helped them believe more in an afterlife. Around 70% characterized their dreams of the deceased as “visitations,” and 71% revealed that dreams of the deceased helped them feel more connected with the deceased.
Psychologist Jennifer E. Shorter from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA, has also done research on our brains and what we dream.
In her study called “Visitation Dreams in Grieving Individuals: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Relationship Between Dreams and the Grieving,” she writes that it’s unknown how many people are experiencing visitation dreams.
But it can happen close to or long after a person has died. In her research, she has concluded that four factors characterize a visitation dream:
1. The people in your visitation dream look like they did when they were alive, although often healthier or younger.
2. The deceased often says something about how they are now, for example, that they are fine.
3. The message in the dream is experienced more telepathically than in the form of physical presence.
4. The dream is often calm and organized, almost harmonious.
Have you ever dreamed of a loved one who died? What did it mean to you? Feel free to share your experience in our comments section, and make sure to share this article on Facebook if you think dreams can have meaning!
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